So I just picked up what were listed as "Ek hatchback rear seats" yesterday. The bottom cushion front brackets are too close together. I mean the holes that the wire clips (or whatever) are supposed to lock into are farther apart.

(__________seat cushion__________)
--------V----------<--clips--->----------V-------
__O________<--holes-->________O__


^^if that makes sense. i'll take a pic once my phone charges.

I have a 97 hatch. The uppers line up perfect. So do I need to buy a 96-98 bottom rear seat cause everywhere on this forum says that 96-00 should be a direct fit. I've combed over this forum for a whole day now and can't find the answer. Any help?

 

They should be a direct fit. Are you A) sure they're true OEM, and B) sure they didn't come out of a 92-95 chassis?

Also, don't say "EK" unless they actually ARE EK4/9 seat bottoms. Be specific in what they supposedly came out of, and post some pics of the seat bottom so maybe we can help you.

 

Funny. I have rear seats from a 99 in my 96 (coupe) and the tabs don't line up either. No one sits back there anyways so I didn't give it a second thought.

 

My rears came from a post-facelift EL, and they fit just fine in my pre-facelift car

 

I saw the car they came out of supposedly, it was a 96-00 hatch (didn't pay attention what year cause it was all ripped apart) and just assumed the dude said "EK" meaning 96-00 which I read previously read were a direct fit so I bought them for $20 bucks. Here's some pics I just took, let me know if I should take more.

 

Mine.

 

right?! Yours aren't quite as bad cause they're smaller but mine leave a huge gap underneath. I don't ever plan on having anyone sit on them either haha. purely cosmetic.

Also, I bought carpet from a 99 hatch and the holes that the clips go in match the seat cushion and not my car.

 

The bottom looks kinda like the coupe or 4 door shape.

 

Well grumblemarc posted a pic of his (coupe) and they seem to have tabs and not the wire like the hatchback. Is this true?

 

I guess the only way to know for sure is to have someone with stock seats in a 96-98 hatch take pics of the front clips of the bottom rear seat and compare it to a pic of stock seats in a 99-00 hatch. Asking a bit much but I'm sure it'll help prevent others from buying the wrong seats if it turns out to be true that they are different. Or it'll turn out I just bought the wrong seats

 

Clip off the wire tabs on bottom and bend the seat so it sits flush. I know they usually get bent upward from removal. That's why you have a gap. It's just wire and foam

 

I really don't want to destroy the clips cause I'll probably just resell them and buy the right ones. Just sucks cause it took me forever to find this set and online prices are way more than I'm willing to spend. This thread was more to confirm that I (and others) don't make the same mistake again and drop money on the wrong seats that everyone seems to think fit.

 

Just bend the tabs back then. They won't snap.

 

haha I just went out to go do that but it's too dark out, I'll try it tomorrow. The more I go look at it the more I notice the carpet from a 99-00 hatch is slightly different too. Looks like I'm back to square one

anyone in the North Chicagoland area need carpet and rear seats for a 99-00 hatch? And most importantly anyone have those above out of a 96-98 hatch? Don't care what color cause I plan on dying/fabric-painting it all black.

 

96 civics don't have the brace that goes across the bottom of the car like 97-00 civics do. that's why the seat mounts are different.

 

no the brace is there. they use the plastic tab things to slot into the brace you see in Grumble's pic. the 99s use the wire to hook under that brace

 

as I said, your seat bottoms probably came from a 96.

 

I think this is backwards, although we get the gist. My seats were from a 99 with the tabs on them.

 

my 96 and 97 hatch have the narrower clips that are closer together. looks like the 99 00 clips are farther apart?? weirdness they changed that, never really crossed my mind.

 

Mine either.

 

I had the same problem, all I had to do was grind a new slit in the metal to push the seat through, took some time and more effort then it was worth but I got it to work

 

Nope. Not grinding anything.

 

This is what I think I'm going to do for a permanent fix. For a temp solution I just bent the wire hooks backwards and zip-tied them to the hole as tight as I could. There's a little play (about an inch) if I lift the seat up but just sitting there is pretty secure and sits flush. There's not much I can do about the carpet though...seems to be a little short and doesn't go all the way under the seat.